I love testing toys - and love great STEM ones even more. Working with Spin Master, we came up with 15 Reasons We Love the G15. Founded in 1994 by childhood friends Ronnen Harary and Anton Rabie, after their graduation from The University of Western Ontario, Spin Master started out by manufacturing a product under the name of Earth Buddy; a nylon head of sawdust that was covered in grass seeds which grew to emulate hair. Joined by classmate Ben Varadi, who attended the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivy School of Business, their success led them to a small facility in downtown Toronto. This bout of success would serve as the springboard for Spin Masters entry into the toy business. Over the past two decades Spin Master has achieved significant growth in the toy business, going from a one product business to a leading global, diversified, multi-platform and highly innovative children's entertainment company. When I was offered the chance to review several of their … [Read more...]

Finding learning toys that would spark my daughters creative side has always been a passion for me. I've never shied away from traditional toys because I feel there's a place for them in every individual childhood but really just love finding new and creative ways to capture her attention and keep it while using play things that fit outside of the realm of everyday toys. That being said, I'm always on the lookout for new brands to work with and to try out, so, when I was given the opportunity to partner with Educational Insights to try out Nancy B's Science Club, I was more than happy to accept and review one of their fun learning products. Educational Insights is made up of employees who are enthusiastic about playtime. Their goal is to create experiences of sheer joy and uncontrollable laughter. The creative minds behind Educational Insights are avid champions of curiosity and moments of discovery. While inspiring creativity, imagination, good sportsmanship and … [Read more...]

In my house the day after Thanksgiving is filled with pilfering the leftovers of last nights dinner and cat naps as we try to sleep off the effects of too much turkey but in a lot of families the day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday Madness. As my family stays indoors and safely away from retail chains and supermarkets, there are a lot of families who take these stores by storm in the hopes to get their hands on the latest goods at awesome prices; Black Friday just one of many events during the holidays that goes a long way in helping you complete those mile long Christmas gift lists you've managed to wrack up over the course of the year. Thankfully for me, I've been fortunate enough to be able to work with a string of great companies that have offered me the opportunity to review their stellar products so instead of braving the Black Friday mobs, I'm able to stay in front of my computer and let my readers know about the latest and greatest gifts they can buy from the … [Read more...]

If you're like me and have small children in your home then you know how important it is as a parent to supply your little ones with toys that are fun as well as educational. In a world where game consoles, tablets, phones and other technological gadgets run the show, it can be hard to find educational toys for kids that actually do more good than harm to our little ones educational development. As a mom who is constantly looking for new ways to challenge my little ones, I was thrilled to stumble across Puzzlets by Digital Dream Labs. Puzzlets put fun and learning hand-in-hand with gameplay that leads kids to think in new ways. We all learn from the games we play so taking this knowledge and pairing it with the STEAM technology, the folks behind Puzzlets have created a new way of learning for kids that is educational as well as fun. Short for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, the STEAM program aims to teach its students to think critically (science and math) … [Read more...]

In our home we take everything as a potential learning experience. For example, both my daughter and I are avid animal lovers and as such I've made it my mission to both learn and teach my daughter as much as I can about each animal she decides is her new favorite. One day it could be the Bengal Tiger and the next it could be the Bottlenose  Dolphin; regardless of the species, there's always an effort to educate both myself and my daughter about the facts that make each animal unique. From feeding habits to hunting techniques to unique bone structures and survival instincts, there's always something new to uncover, which is why I've always been such a fan of National Geographic. Whether your area of interest is in nature itself, animals (like my daughter and I) or even Geography, National Geographic has made it their mission to be an open portal for a limitless amount of knowledge. My family loves the National Geographic channel on TV and can watch it, day or night, … [Read more...]

It seems like with every passing year it gets harder and harder to compete with all the latest and greatest gifts that are introduced in our retail flyers and the ever famous big book of toys. Each year when they arrive on my doorstep with our Sunday paper I find myself cringing because they're the first thing everybody grabs when the paper is brought inside (and I know that the Christmas lists that are already a foot long) is the ads that scream to be thoroughly looked through. Much to my chagrin, as I look through the ads myself after everyone else has finished, the toys and gadgets seem to have skyrocketed in price since last years ads; I can already hear my bank account groaning just looking at everything...am I alone? As a blogger I'm often given the opportunities to work with big brands like Spin Master and thankfully review a lot of products that not only help bring them more exposure but that also can be put towards gifts for birthdays and holidays and we donate a lot of … [Read more...]